Current
|} "Current" is the first episode of ''Hadithi Ya Hodari''. Synopsis Ushidi's attempt to teach Ogelea how to swim goes awry. Plot Taala lounged at the top of the hill, considerably bored. It was the sort of day that seemed to present itself frequently in the Drylands; the white sun blazing down on his tawny back, without a whisper of a breeze of or any humidity whatsoever. He didn’t mind these days as much as some others did, but as of now, he found himself bored. He watched as the pride moved about, his mother organizing the males’ patrols. The lionesses did not go; the previous day’s hunt had been enough to satisfy the pride. One male, Ushidi, also remained behind, as he was recovering from a badly twisted paw and would be unable to make his usual routes. He had been advised against sparring for the day, Taala knew, and the light brown lion looked dejected. After a brief consideration, he approached him. Ushidi glanced up at the sound of his pawsteps. “Oh, hey, Taala,” he greeted him. “Hot day, isn’t it?” “Hello, Ushidi. It is,” he answered, feeling somewhat shy. “I don’t quite have anything to do. . . so was wondering if you could perhaps tell me a story.” “A story?” repeated Ushidi. “I don’t know, I’m not great at making things up.” “I don’t mean an imaginary story. I mean something that actually happened. Certainly something of interest has occurred in your time, hasn’t it?” he pressed quietly. “Well, of course. You know, not to long ago, I taught Ogelea to swim. It turned out to be a bit of an adventure. Would you like to hear it?” inquired Ushidi. In lieu of answer, Taala sat down and curled his tail over his paws. Ushidi smiled and started to speak. “‘All right,’ I began, sliding into the water. I felt the current tug at my pale brown fur and sepia mane, the clear water rushing past me, quick but not yet powerful. Turning to gaze at my son, Ogelea, I spread my toes wide to get a better grip on the polished pebbled surface on which I stood. ‘See how I’m holding on? Try and copy me. That area there is shallower, but it should be enough for you to get the idea,’ I instructed. Ogelea didn’t hesitate. He plunged right in, perhaps slightly too eagerly, his taupe coat instantly darkening to an even gray-brown. His pale paws scrabbled for a hold for a moment, but he soon managed to stand steadily, the current hardly budging him. ‘One thing you need to remember,’ I told my son. ‘is that the current is your friend, not your enemy. If you’re in danger, don’t fight the current unless you absolutely have to. Instead, tilt with it, ride it, and eventually, you may be able to find a breach in it- that is to say, a space calm enough for you to break away and make for the shore.’ The knowledge, which had imposed itself upon me over my many years of swimming, flowed from my mouth with surprising ease. I had never considered myself much of a teacher. “I noticed that Ogelea’s burnished ruby eyes were beginning to wander, observing the shimmering periwinkle waters with sparking interest. The cub could never focus on one thing for very long. The best way he learned was perhaps the best way there was to learn- practically. “‘''May as well let him go'', I told myself. ‘Well, you can stand in the river. Go ahead and move a little further out. Remember, I’m right here.’ Before my reassurance had been fully voiced, Ogelea sprang eagerly forward, further towards the center of the river, with a loud splash, sending arcs of flashing drops everywhere. A few of the animals at the river’s edge glanced up, but seeing nothing more interesting than a lanky lion and his cub, ducked back to the water. “I watched Ogelea intently, watching as my son’s long legs thrashed in the water- skillfully enough to keep his head above the surface most of the time, but not so much to prevent him from getting bowled over by the current when it swelled. ‘Don’t move your legs too fast!’ I suggested. ‘Keep a pattern going. Left forepaw strike, right hind paw kick, overlapping each other, and vise versa.’ “‘Like this?’ gasped Ogelea, delight evident in his broad features as he began to tread water more smoothly. The river was still nudging him forward, but slowly. Just in case, I rose to my paws and padded alongside my cub. “‘Yes, perfect. Now try-’ I started to say, but Ogelea was already attempting something different. He was swimming forward, in the same direction as the water’s flow, slowly at first, then faster as the current shoved him. I parted my jaws to warn Ogelea, but decided against it. It’s shallow. He’s in no danger. And he learns by experience more than anything else. No sooner had I thought this did Ogelea roll over in the water, his hind paws and tail flying over his head. I lunged forward without any particular urgency, managed to take Ogelea’s scruff between my teeth, and withdrew him coughing and spitting from the water. I set him gently back on dry land. “Ogelea gasped for air, then sneezed violently, expelling water from his nose with such force that it splashed in the center of the river. I felt the corners of my muzzle turn up into a smile. “‘Impressive,’ I remarked. “Ogelea burst into peals of high-pitched laughter. ‘Ha, ha, ha! That was awesome! Did you see me, Dad? I did a flip! Wait ‘til I tell Mom!’ The small fringe of fur that stuck up on his head was spread out and dangling in front of his wide eyes, rather than swept to the side as it usually was, and it shook as he giggled. His amusement was contagious. My smile transformed into a grin. “‘You did great! But I thought I’d better rescue you. Didn’t want you to get swept downriver and sucked up by some elephant’s trunk,’ I explained, giving Ogelea a playful push. ‘You got any idea what you did wrong?’ “Ogelea’s brown furrowed. ‘Didn’t swim fast enough?’ “‘Not really,’ I told him. ‘You see, you were fighting the current, which you’re not quite strong enough to do yet.’ “‘Was not!’ protested Ogelea. ‘I was swimming in the same direction as it, I think! I mean, I know! I’m sure I was!’ “‘You were indeed,’ I assured him. ‘But you’re not fast enough to keep up with it yet, so you were getting in its way. Don’t worry, I don’t think I’m quick enough to outswim the river itself either- I’ll bet nobody is! Anyway, if you’re impeding the river, it’ll push you over- if you’re travelling in the same direction as the flow, ride it more than you swim it. Use your paws for steering instead.’ “Ogelea shrugged his round, sodden shoulders. ‘You make it sound like it’s alive or something.’ “I turned my green gaze onto the Mkondo River. ‘Well, technically, I know it’s not. But sometimes it feels alive to me. I mean, it has emotions- like on the rare stormy day, you’ll see it angry- and it moves and changes and eats, just like everything I know that’s alive.’ “To my surprise, Ogelea was still paying attention. ‘Eats!’ the cub snickered. ‘How does a river eat?’ “‘Like this!’ I cried, clutching my son by the scruff and tossing him exuberantly into the river. I saw Ogelea make contact with the water, grinning and squealing with joy, then submerge completely, his shape still surprisingly clear through the waters of the Mkondo. I watched as Ogelea paddled upwards, his wide head breaching the surface. “‘Dad! Look! I’m doing it!’ Ogelea cried effusively. “‘I see! Great job! Now, try and swim back to me. Diagonally would be best for now,’ I called in response. “Ogelea turned and began propelling himself back towards me. I observed him with swelling pride. I parted my jaws to praise him, but the words died in my throat as Ogelea was abruptly pulled under the water by a powerful rush of the river and swept to the central area of the water, where the current was the strongest. “‘Ogelea!’ I plunged into the water, cutting through it with little effort, reaching towards the blurry gray-brown shape. But the Mkondo was faster and stronger, and it effortlessly streaked Ogelea downriver. “I heard a single, sharp cry. ‘Dad!’ “With a curse I kicked my hind legs as hard as I could, catching the current and allowing it to give me additional speed. I was still able to sight Ogelea’s shape, but it was under the water and appeared to be rolling over. I plunged after him, feeling nothing but fierce conviction. I would save him, I had to. I used my forepaws to shift my body, causing the river to carry me along faster. By now, many of the animals at the river’s edge were staring at me, apathetically observing my desperate attempt to rescue my cub. One of them, a jackal, appeared to be enjoying the show. Her high laughter echoed in my ears as I dove under the water, keeping my eyes open, thrusting my paws forward and using them to navigate my way through the water as quickly as possible. For a moment I considered going to the shore and running alongside the Mkondo River, but I quickly dismissed the thought. There would be too many creatures in my way, and I could not risk losing sight of Ogelea- besides, I was a faster swimmer than runner. “All this time I kept my eyes locked on my son. The river was pushing him up and down, sometimes keeping him under for so long that my heart practically stopped. But then he would rise to the surface again, and I’d see his jaws part to suck in a desperate breath. Once or twice, I tried shouting advice to him, but it was useless. He couldn’t hear me. Then I glimpsed something that made me stumble. Ogelea struck the bottom of the river and a small cloud of scarlet blossomed from his form. I couldn’t tell where he had hurt himself, but I knew that if it were his head, he could wind up dead in a matter of minutes- perhaps even seconds. I screamed his name again, but received no response. I was losing my composure at this point, gasping for air, straining my legs to force myself to move faster, faster. It was no use, but I nevertheless kept trying. “As fatigue began to creep into my muscles, I noticed that Ogelea was moving in a different manner. Instead of flailing, he was moving with some pattern, some regularity. He was attempting to swim. I gazed at him, slightly awestruck, as he began to propel himself diagonally- not fighting the current, but moving with it and yet away from it at the same time. I mimicked him, matching my movements with his. The current lessened and the water grew slightly shallower, and I was able to spring forward, half-running and half-swimming, and take hold of Ogelea. Really, though, at that point, he hardly needed it- he was only a few pawstrokes from the shore. “I began examining him fervently, sniffing his head for any trace of blood. I found none. His small body trembled, and he choked up several mouthfuls of water. I licked his back to warm and soothe him. The action was calm, but inside I was still a wreck, the image of his blood reddening the river still burned into my vision. “‘Are you hurt? Where? Are you all right?’ I demanded. He looked up at my and managed a smile. “‘Never been better. No need to worry about me, I’m as healthy as can be.’ Had I not been so freaked out, I would have chuckled. As it was, my eyes narrowed. “‘I saw blood,’ I insisted. “‘Oh, yeah.’ He lifted his left forepaw paw for my examination. A deep laceration was gashed into his brown paw pad, streaming blood. I stared at it in horror while he looked at it somewhat appreciatively. ‘Nice. This’d better scar. I’ll bet Shibli’s gonna be impressed.’ I groaned at his cavalier attitude but found myself cheered up slightly. “‘We’d better get you back to the Plains so Kumbufu can take a look at you. Your mom will still be out hunting, so maybe we can get this nice and patched up without her hearing much about it, eh?’ I suggested, imagining the look on Kimeta’s face if I were to tell her that I’d flung our son into the river and cut up his paw. “‘You kidding? She’s gonna see this as soon as she gets home,’ Ogelea informed me, a cheeky smirk flashing onto his muzzle. “Wait ‘til everyone hears about this. Did you see what I did? I got back to the shore almost completely by myself, even after the stupid rocks gashed by paw and the river had shoved half of itself up my nose.’ “I sighed, knowing I wouldn’t be the pride’s most popular lion for a time, but deciding against arguing. I knew I kind of deserved it. So instead I ruffled his sopping fur and gave him a final lick. ‘You did do great,’ I told him proudly. ‘Better than I did, really. I’ve no doubt you’ll soon be the best swimmer in the Drylands. Master of the current.’ He giggled, and I took his scruff and made my way back home.” Ushidi finished the story with a glance towards the lower slope of the hill, where his mate Kimeta lay, grooming their son with rhythmic strokes of her pink tongue. “That’s some tale for a first swim,” Taala noted. He was surprised that Ogelea liked the water so much, even after such a terrifying first encounter. “It’s a wonder he still enjoys swimming. Do you know why?” Ushidi nodded. “He’s like me. It’s a challenge, and he’s not going to walk away from it forever.” Taala dipped his head. “Thank you for the story, pridemate.” Characters In order of mention: * Taala * Nurisha * Ushidi * Ogelea * Kimeta (mentioned) * Jike * Shibli (mentioned) * Kumbufu (mentioned) Category:Fanfiction Category:Episodes Category:Hadithi Ya Hodari Episodes